Palisades Fire in California forces drivers to abandon cars as they flee Santa Ana winds-fueled blaze

As the Pacific Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles quickly grew Tuesday afternoon amid a destructive windstorm, some residents chose to leave, others followed evacuation orders and others were forced to walk among the smoke and ash, abandoning their cars stuck in gridlock as flames dangerously approached. 

At 10:30 a.m. the Palisades Fire was estimated to be 20 acres, and an hour later it had grown to 200 acres. By around 6:30 p.m., Cal Fire said it stood at 2,921 acres and continues to grow in size. Pacific Palisades is a coastal neighborhood in northwest Los Angeles. 

“This happened in the spur of the moment,” resident Krishan Chaudry said. “We were looking at the smoke, then all of the sudden we saw fire everywhere.”  

About 30,000 people have been evacuated, and an estimated 10,367 houses remain threatened by the quickly moving flames, Los Angeles fire department and law enforcement officials said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Sunset Boulevard was jammed with cars as people tried to evacuate. Resident Marsha Horowitz was walking down Sunset with her dog and said the fire department told people to get out of their cars. “The fire came right down to the road, and the fire department came up and said ‘get out of your cars now,’ because the fire was right up against the cars,” she said. 

One resident out on Sunset said evacuation orders went out when he was already walking along the roadway. He said he saw people walking with suitcases. “It is beautiful when everything is fine, when there’s fire, everyone wants to be elsewhere,” Eugene said. 

Another resident, Nicolas Libonati, said he saw a lot of abandoned cars on the road, and people running toward the coast. “It was kind of a surreal scene,” he said.  “There’s one road in and one road out, and there’s a fire road, and I tried to go on through the fire road, but a flame went right over my head, so I went down the main road and everyone had that idea obviously.” 

Many residents headed toward the ocean where Super Scoopers could be seen dipping down to load up on water amid a black, smoky sky.  

Longtime Pacific Palisades resident Sean Butler said once he got the evacuation order, he didn’t hesitate.  “I got my dogs in the car, I got my go-bag and I came down here to the parking lot at Temescal Canyon and Pacific Coast Highway.” 

Some can’t get out. Fire surrounds them with flames coming right up to the homes, and roads are gridlocked.  

“We’re all freaked out everywhere, all shaking,” resident Sue said. “The fire department have been the most amazing humans. They hugged us and said don’t worry we’ll take care of you. They have been amazing.” She estimated winds earlier at 50 mph. 

Residents who evacuated wonder if their homes will survive. “I don’t know if my house is up, if it burned down or not,” resident Andrew Hires said. “I was about 100 yards from our house, in the backyard when I started evacuating … well when I started packing and got my kids out.”  

A full list of Palisades Fire evacuation orders and warnings from Cal Fire can be found here.  

The Westwood Recreation Center has opened as an evacuation center and overnight shelter for evacuees and small animals, according to fire authorities. The latest information on evacuations and resources for those affected can be found here.